Sleep Walking, A Twilight Short Story
by Peepers
Summary: “Who can forget… The long cool shadows floating on the campus.” -Dartmouth Undying. This story takes place nine months after the end of Breaking Dawn. Bella has continued with her journey, but there is trouble amiss... Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Sleep Walking

"_Who can forget…. The long cool shadows floating on the campus."_

_-Dartmouth Undying_

Prologue

Isabella Cullen. Isabella Swan Cullen. Bella Cullen. I twisted my new driver's license around in my hand. It was just like my old one, shiny and laminated hard, but the old one did not give me large butterflies in my stomach when I looked at it. It was still odd to see my new name, to hear it, Isabella Cullen. The new picture didn't even look familiar. I still couldn't believe that was me. Of course, eventually, inevitably, the name would change. In about ten years or so, my vampire family and I would have to move on and change our surnames at least, so we didn't draw attention to ourselves, because we did not age as humans do. But for now I was blissful in that I shared the only last name I've ever known my true love to have, Cullen. I was proud to be part of this close coven, family, of mismatched wonderful personalities, vampires, like me. Those that have given up so much of what their nature begs them to do and have fought so hard for what they believe in. They, we, have won the right to live as we choose and with each setting of the sun I tried to revel in that we were together and safe.

I most of all enjoyed watching my half human daughter as she played and absorbed knowledge from every aspect of her limited surroundings in Forks, Washington. She was growing at lightning speed compared to a human child, but we now knew that she would mature and then her aging would slow. It was comforting to be able to relax and enjoy this wonderous new life I had become a part of. I was also still getting to know my incredible new vampire body and mind, but the process was made much easier by the gracious patience of Edward and my new family.

The first winter of my vampire birth was a time of great turmoil for the Cullens, our allies, and extended family. Things were settling down, but all through the rest of the winter and even into the spring, we were still reeling from the events of that New Year's. How we had almost been erased from existence in a meadow not far from our tranquil home. How the Voltare, the enforcers of vampire 'law' or so they say, had tried to split up our family and destroy our coven and supporters. How they had failed and we stood strong. We knew they would eventually come back, but I was not going to worry myself with them any longer. I wanted to enjoy my new daughter, my new husband, my new family, and, or course, my new name. Bella Cullen. It sounded like music to my ears. The summer would be a fresh start and the fall would bring a new adventure for me… College.

Chapter One

Upper Valley, New Hampshire

The rain was light and cool on our faces as we strolled down the dark sidewalk. Renesmee had my hand on one side and her father's on the other, occasionally skipping as we walked, humming a light tune to herself that I did not recognize. It was just after dusk in the quaint New England college town of Upper Valley where my husband, Edward, our daughter Renesmee, Edward's adopted sister Alice, her husband Jasper, and I had settled down in a large loft style apartment near Dartmouth University. Edward and I were taking night courses and in the eight weeks we'd been here everyone was adjusting well. We had recently enrolled Renesmee in a kiddie play center that had evening hours called "Fun Town". The weather was just starting to turn cool and it was easy to tell it was near Halloween. Many of the homes we passed on our way to the "Fun" center had Halloween decorations newly strung up to scare and delight. Dartmouth and "Fun Town" were both located a short walk from our loft. Renesmee was put in with the five to seven year olds, since the birth certificate we'd had forged for her put her age at six and a half, which she easily passed for. I can't imagine what the staff's reaction would be if they knew she was only fourteen months old! Renesmee was every bit the part though, reading at a first grade level and articulating her speech so perfectly that Edward and I were constantly receiving compliments about our home schooling techniques.

"Momma, my friend Billy is having a birthday party at his house next Saturday, can I go?" Renesmee's cute high pitched little voice asked then she looked at me with her large beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Edward and I glanced at each other. We'd known complications like this would arise many times over the next few hundred years, but this was the first and we wanted to handle it properly. My response was cautious.

"Renesmee, you know that your happiness is extremely important to us, and we will do whatever we can to make your interaction with other children as normal as possible. But, there are limits to where we can go during the daytime, and I'm afraid if it's too sunny that day we would not be able to go. We don't want to scare the other parents or children, do we?" Renesmee knew that Edward's and my skin, pale ivory and hard as marble, would become effervescent in the direct sun, throwing off rainbows and glittering brightly. Any human that saw us would know immediately that something was amiss and we would be forced to pick up and leave this town, something I did not want to think about, especially since we just got here. My university studies were very important to Edward and I didn't want to let him down.

"Besides," Edward said, remembering the date, "you will be with me and Uncle Jasper visiting your grandparents in Forks. Remember sweetheart? We leave this weekend." Edward smiled his gorgeous crooked smile down at her and although my stomach flipped whenever I saw that grin, it also saddened me because I knew I would have to say goodbye to them while they visited home. Edward, Jasper, and Renesmee were going home early for Thanksgiving. Since I couldn't miss that much of my studies, Alice and I would join them closer to the holiday. It turns out Edward handled much of the financial dealings the Cullens had and he wanted to organize everything for his father, Carlisle, before the holidays. Renesmee was also missing Jacob, our shapeshifting/ wolf/ Quilliote Indian best friend and I knew from the constant phone calls that Jacob was missing her terribly too. They had a great bond that could not be shaken and although in the future I was not sure how Edward and I would feel about the match up, since Jacob was holding fast at the age of sixteen and Renesmee would soon be a lovely teenager herself, for now we were glad that Jake could bring his 'Nessie' happiness and be a part of our lives. I guess we were all 'bonded' to each other in more ways then one.

We reached the large storefront style windows of "Fun Town" and Renesmee let out a hefty 'Woo-hoo!' and ran inside. Edward looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"And you were worried about her conforming to human society." He chuckled low enough for only me to hear. That made me smile.

"Renesmee, please come say goodbye to your poor mother and father before you start having so much fun without us!" I yelled into the large gym area layed out in front of us.

Just as I opened my arms wide enough for a big hug Renesmee hopped over to me on one leg and grabbed my jacket, pulling me down to whisper in my ear.

"Momma, please please call me Nessie!! Please! I love my full name too, but all the other kids can't say it right, so I'd just like to be called Nessie in front of them." After some thought she also added, "In fact, just call me Nessie in front of everyone, we'll make it easy for you." Then she turned around to a little boy that was tugging on the back of her hair, "Billy, I told you I wouldn't put it down, I'm still hopping. We will hop. All night, we will hop, just like bunnies!" With that she turned to hop away and quickly threw a "Goodbye, Love You Guys" over her shoulder back at us.

The room mother for the night, Carol, was walking over to us sighing with a smile on her face. "She is like a little mother hen with those younger kids, and that Billy Foster can't get enough of her. They both wear me out." She sighed again and then looked worried, "But in a good way, I mean they keep the kids occupied, they're always coming up with something new to do. I wonder what tonight will bring." Carol narrowed her eyes when she said this then smiled. "You guys have a great night at class and I'll see you later. Don't worry a bit, she's in good hands."

"Thank-you Carol. See you later sweetie!" I called into the play room and 'Nessie' glanced up mid-hop and waved with a bright smile. Edward grabbed my hand and swung me back toward the door mumbling about being late for class.

I was taking a small course load of business classes, mostly just first year stuff, definitely remedial for someone like Edward. I was thinking about opening a floral shop when we finally moved back to Forks. I always had a love for flowers and I was pretty good at picking out different floral scents and mixing them together. Being in the city as much as we were now I missed the different scents of the meadows and forrests of our home. Edward and Alice had been surprised when I mentioned opening a business, but my argument could not be beat. I reasoned that we had forever to live, forever to do whatever we wanted, so why not try it all? I wanted to be productive, did they expect me to sit around and eat plasma bon-bons all day? I knew it would not be forever, but all the better to get my feet wet in the business world. I figured if you wanted to work for a living what better way to work then to be your own boss? Edward had finally agreed with my plan and was actually taking courses in botany to help me once I started my little shop. This pleased me and once he signed up for his course load Alice said she could see the shop and insisted on being our first customer. With her penchant for shopping and fresh flowers I predicted she would be our best customer also, but I kept that to myself.

My sister in law was having fun in New Hampshire these last weeks also. She and Jasper had gotten work at a nightclub near our loft. Jasper was a bouncer, although his special 'ability' to ease tense situations kept the fighting to a minumum. At least, until they got outside and away from Jasper's line of sight. Alice was a paid "Club Girl", she would flitter around and talk up guys who looked lonely or bored and get them talk to other girls or to buy drinks. Basically, she made sure everyone had fun and she was very good at her job. Edward said she was getting paid for nothing and he thought it was the perfect job for her. She didn't like that comment but always had some kind of comeback about how at least she had a job. Every once in a while Alice would have one of her 'visions', she could flash to the future if the occasion called for it. She mostly saw happy things now, like her mother Esme's decision to remodel their garage or Jasper picking out a new piece of jewelry to surprise her with (even though he knew it would never be a surprise, Alice was very in tune with jewelry gifts).

They had used Alice's unique mind to trick me when we first moved to the Upper Valley area. It was September 13th, my human birthday, which I strictly forbade anyone to acknowledge. It was bad enough I had to deal with gifts from my dad, Charlie, and my mom, Renee (who was glad I was healthy again, but still hadn't seen me in the flesh), I certainly didn't want my forever 17 husband to remember that I would've been nineteen had I stayed mortal. Of course, that was too much to ask, and Alice had called me while I was trying to unpack.

"You have to come down to the park around the corner," She had taken Renesmee just after sunset to play on the swings. "I've seen quite a bad dilemma, you'd better get down here!" Her voice sounded high and stressed so I hurried out the door and bolted up the small block and turned the corner in a flash. They were all there, Edward, Alice, Nessie, and Jasper. They had a large banner hung up on the swing set with "Happy Birthday" written on it in black paint. The playground was decorated with large bows and fresh flowers all around. When Renesmee saw me she ran up and hugged my legs tightly.

"Don't be mad Momma, it was my idea." She looked up at me and smiled a beautiful crooked smile, she was so much like her daddy, perfect in every way. "I made this for you," she said as she handed me a piece of construction paper, "I hope you like it."

I turned the paper over and saw a picture of me, Edward, and Nessie holding hands all made of elbow macaroni. It was the best artwork I'd ever seen.

"I love it my dear, you will be a great artist someday!" I shouted as I grabbed her up and twirled her in the air.

"And if I get too hungry I can eat it!" Everyone laughed at that and we cleaned up and headed home. As I put Nessie to bed that night I thanked her again for the macaroni picture, now properly placed on the fridge for everyone to see. "I'm sorry our party wasn't like mine Momma." Renesmee had my face in her hands as she said this, a grave look in her eyes.

Right before we had left Forks for Dartmouth, Renesmee had her first birthday party at the Cullens huge house and we went all out. Clowns, Moon Bounce, candy bar (an actual bar made of candy), pony rides, and so much more. Every child in Forks and La Push came and they had a blast. Many thought they were there to celebrate the sixth birthday of our adopted daughter. Many also wondered why we started the party at five p.m. But that didn't dampen the spirit once they saw the Cullen estate and the elaborate party we created. We were the talk of the town for days afterward and every child wanted to be Nessie's best friend.

"Well, Nes-sie," I enunciated her nickname as she asked me to do as I tickled her lightly, "I think I had enough fun at your birthday party to last through mine too. Besides, your art is the best present I could get." Her giggles turned to a sigh as I stopped tickling her. "Now get some sleep, sweet dreams my love." I kissed her forehead and shut her bedroom door as I crept out.

Privately that night, Edward gave me a wrapped box and I was mad at first but he gufawed at my oppostion saying, "It's just a little something, no big deal, really, just open it." I reluctantly did. It was a large Dartmouth sweatshirt, very worn in and very comfy looking. The scent caught my attention and I took a long whiff of it, mothballs and -what was that- Edward?? He caught on right away. "This was my sweatshirt when I went here before." He smiled at my puzzled expression, "In 1935. I graduated Suma Cum Laude."

I knew that my husband had a long educational background but this took me by surprise, I didn't know for sure that he had attended Dartmouth before. After a second to catch my composure I smiled and since Renesmee was already in bed I properly thanked him for a very long time.

I smiled to myself remembering that night during my Intro to Business class. The professor was writing his own text book and decided to teach from that, even though it was unpublished and unobtainable. This made it extremely difficult to stay on track so mostly I just half listened, which actually seemed to be enough because my vampire senses were so alert that I had instant recall of whatever was said in class. I took minimal notes and on the test just willed myself to remember the lecture pertaining to the question. I was acing with an easy A- so far, I think the best in the class.

I was glad when classes ended for the night an it was time to get Renesmee and go home. She was happy to see us and looked hungry and tired. Edward carried her home and she lay on his shoulder with her eyes closed. At home she gobbled down a 16 ounce sport drink bottle we had filled up with fresh buck blood from our last hunting trip locally. She preferred fresh, but if frozen then thawed properly it was quite tasty. Due to her rapid growth, Renesmee fed more often then we did, mostly sticking to human food unless we were hunting together. Occasionally, like tonight, we gave her a treat of the frozen animal blood. She preferred donated human blood, but that was hard for us to get here and we wanted to ween her off human blood as much as possible. We tucked her into bed together and she looked sweet as an angel holding her favorite stuffed bear and almost sucking her thumb.

"Get some sleep tonight my love." Edward purred to her as we put her into her bed. "Tomorrow Auntie Alice is taking you shopping for your costume, tomorrow night is All Hallows Eve! May I Trick or Treat with you?"

She grinned widely at this, pulling her thumb out of her mouth with a pop, "Yes, you certainly may daddy, but you have to dress up too and so does momma and Aunt Alice!" She had a glint in her eye at some surely wicked thought. Edward rumpled his brow and looked interested.

"We'll see about that. But you never know." Edward looked over to me and he and Renesmee burst out into laughter at whatever thought he had seen her picture in her head. "Darling," Edward looked at me, "how do you feel about bunny costumes?" Oh no.

Chapter Two to come!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two **

BOO!

Lucky for Alice and Nessie, but decidedly unlucky for me, the next morning came cloudy and overcast. The perfect day for a vampire shopping trip. Edward and I watched the dawn with trepidation, knowing soon he would leave and we would have to be apart. Although we did not sleep, we began craving our nights together, when Renesmee slept and we could just relax and enjoy each other. Some nights we would listen to Bach, some we would spend hours in one kiss, occasionally we would talk, but mostly we communicated during this time without words. He could not look into my mind, but he could see my heart, for he had just to look in the palm of his hands. I could not imagine there being a heaven or hell without him, so although I still felt I had a soul- I was sure that was not lost in my vampire conversion- I now craved him so badly that I could not see any existence at all without my other half. Even the passing thought crossing my mind made me wince as I dressed Nessie in her favorite shopping dress. She noticed and put her little hand to my head. She showed me an image of myself sad and nervous as I was when we were waiting for our fate that previous New Year's in the meadow in Forks. I hoped I didn't look that despondent now.

"No, sweetie, Momma's fine. I just think too much. There's absolutely nothing to worry about. I'll just miss you guys when you go back home, that's all." I buttoned her sweater up over her yellow cotton dress. The white fringes of the sweater made the dress look frilly and girlie, Nessie liked that look for herself. 'She must get that from Edward's side.' I thought to myself and chuckled.

Renesmee touched my face again. She showed me images of Jacob and Charlie and Carlisle and Esmee and Rose and even Emmett. I could tell she missed them all. I nodded to her and twirled her around in front of me to see her outfit.

"Aunt Alice, I think a certain little princess is ready for a fun day of picking out the most embarrassing Halloween costumes you can find for mommy and daddy." I said with obvious chagrin.

Alice fluttered in and rolled her eyes. "Why does everything have to be all about you, Bella dear. We are going to get Nessie the best costume ever. I think she was mentioning something about either a fairy godmother or a bunny?" Alice said with a gleam in her coppery eyes.

"A bunny, a bunny!" Renesmee immediately started hopping around the loft. "May I be a bunny Papa?" She hopped over to where Edward was reading the morning newspaper on the large red sectional sofa in the living room area. The tv was on the morning news, but no one was paying any attention to it.

"If that's what you want my darling daughter." Edward cooed as he lifted her onto his lap and put the paper aside. "Be back by five Alice, I don't want to go out too late with her." Edward put the child down and shut off the tv with the remote then went back to the paper. He gave Nessie a pat on the back as she turned for the door. Nessie waved and blew a kiss in my direction since now I was standing in the doorway to her room.

Alice was already out the door. "I'm taking the Mercedes, see you later. Come'on Nessie!!" And they were gone. We could hear them scrambling down the three flights of steps toward the large parking garage. Of course, our loft was the penthouse of this small apartment building, Edward would have it no other way. 'He can be kind of spoiled when he wants to be', I thought looking around the apartment.

The loft was quite large, about 2100 square feet. It was furnished when we got here and I wasn't sure if Alice had done that or it came this way. The sectional, two large brown lounge chairs, the big screen tv, and two chestnut end tables were in the center of the floor on a large brown throw rug. The outer portions of the extra big space included a small kitchen (mostly useless for us), a computer area with a stereo system on top of the computer desk, one wall of large windows facing the bustling city street three stories below, a powder room, and the hallway which led to three bedrooms and a large bathroom with a jacuzzi tub. Edward and I were in the master suite, since we were still basically newlyweds. Jasper and Alice had the medium bedroom and Renesmee was in the small bedroom next to ours, I think it was originally meant to be a home office or home gym, it only had one small window. But, Nessie liked her little space and she had already filled up the walls with drawings and art she had made in her Fun Town classes or doodling the day away.

Jasper came out of the bathroom and into the living room just then wearing nothing but a towel. He shook his matted wet head and said that he was concerned about a conversation he'd overheard at the club the night before. Two of the 'Club Kids' were laughing about an odd local robbery they'd heard about. Apparently, the owner of the club had been missing for three days. They finally broke into his house and found him passed out in his bed. He lived alone and despite numerous girlfriends, no one else had a key to his home but him. He had no wounds and no drugs in his system, he was not violated, other then his bank account being cleaned out and many of his most expensive possessions gone. The part that concerned Jasper though, was that the kids revealed the robber had actually lived there for the three days, crashing at the house while the owner was incapacitated somehow. The temperature outside was quite chilly and normal humans would have had the heat on this time of year, but the kids said the police found the house 'cold as death' and the club owner's dog was found mutilated in the back shed, blood drained. The club owner could remember nothing other then a very vivid dream and although tired, he was none the worse for the wear.

When Jasper finished the story, Edward looked thoughtful for a long minute. "Maybe we should go check out the house and see if we can get a scent?" He finally said, looking at Jasper. "Just in case?" His eyes looked concerned and his brow furrowed.

"That's exactly what I thought. Lemme get dressed. You coming Bella?" Jasper glanced backward at me as he strolled into his bedroom to get dressed.

"Sure. What better way to spend Halloween then to go looking for vampires?" I grinned at Edward and his hard look softened. I was glad that I had gotten a shower and dressed before I got Renesmee ready.

"My darling, do not make light of this, if we do have a rogue taking up residence with humans in the city, then we have a problem indeed. I can't help but to wonder, Jasper," Edward continued speaking in a normal voice to his brother who was now behind a closed bedroom door, of course, Jasper could certainly hear him, "if this is one of us, why would he not kill the human?" Edward's brow furrowed again, "I'm going to get dressed."

An hour later we were on the road. It was easy enough to find a whole story on the robbery in the newspaper, the full coverage included the address of the poor club owner. We had to take our second car in New Hampshire, a Lexus SUV, I wasn't sure what the model was, I'm not very good with cars. Edward had insisted we drive the Limited Edition Mercedes tank-like car when we moved here, so that he could be sure Renesmee was safe when riding. Overkill if you ask me, but that's what I thought when he bought me the car a little more then a year ago. Jasper purchased the Lexus for he and Alice when we got here so we would not be that dependent on each other if we had to travel by vehicle. We, of course, preferred to run, but in the city that was not practical, we would be too easily detected as a group. Sometimes an individual vampire could get away with a midnight run through the streets. I made a mental note to run more often, just the thought of it made me grip the door handle in anticipation. I may seem completely in control most of the time, but I was a newborn vampire and it was all too easy to let my passions get the better of me. I needed to make sure that I had a constant outlet for my natural yearnings. I would also need to feed soon, that meant Edward would too. My revere was broken by Edward opening up my car door for me.

"Can you smell it?" Edward said to me with a grim expression on his face. We were parked in front of a modest twin on a typical suburban city street. There were many twin homes, connected at one side, and a few trees. All of the houses had their own drive ways and the cars were modest, the street was well kept with a few scattered leaves blowing in the wind. Almost all of the houses had Halloween decorations strewn about. Some more decorative then others, with fog machines and blow up ghosts. It didn't look like these people were worried about burgulary in this neighborhood. The house in front of us resembled the others in that it was decorated, but the -KEEP OUT -POLICE- tape was real, not make believe horror. Edward grasped my hand and asked again, "Bella, honey, do you smell it?"

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. I smelled the maple tree sap from the shedding tree to my right. I smelled the barking dog locked inside the backyard fence of the house behind us. I smelled the jasmine and wilting roses of someone's dying garden to the left. And, directly in front of me I smelled the sweet, rich scent of vampire, it was strong and recent, and it was the scent of one that I had never smelled before. My stomach started to churn.

I answered Edward glumly, "I smell it."

Chapter Three

More to come!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Tricks

A low snarl erupted from Jasper's throat. I glanced at him and saw his teeth bared. Whoever this intruder had been, Jasper certainly didn't care for his smell. I could tell that it was not a newborn vampire, I'd gotten quite used to a newborn's scent last year, and this was not a female either. I was getting better and better at this kind of stuff. Edward squeezed my hand and looked at Jasper, speaking in a whisper.

"I don't know him, definitely male." Edward lifted his head in the air and moved up onto the house's porch steps. "I can smell the dog blood, but no human blood spilled?" He phrased that as a question and looked at Jasper and I. "Do either of you smell anything else?" He asked.

"We need to go inside." Jasper replied also whispering and still growling, his eyes glowing a dark amber. "There are no humans here now."

"But, brother, we are not alone." Edward's eyes moved ever so briefly toward the neighbor's house across the street. Jasper and I both in-perceptively moved our gaze to the smaller blue shuttered twin. The curtains in the front window quickly moved to prevent any peeks inside. I found that if I concentrated very hard while looking toward the house I could hear fast, labored breathing and a very fast, nervous heartbeat facing me through the opaque curtains. Edward spoke softly again, "Jasper, you do some re-con, get into the house and gather any clues you can. We passed a Quick-n-Sip on the way here, can you meet us there in say ½ an hour?" Edward turned me around and we all headed back toward the SUV.

"No problem Edward." He smiled a toothy grin, his eyes still wild. "Finally, some excitement. No offense Bella, but your drama the last few years has spoiled all of us for entertainment. It's been too quiet lately." Before I could say 'Thanks creep' he was walking quickly around the corner, as if he were going home. I knew he was going to case the rest of the neighborhood and disappear into the house unseen from spying human eyes.

Edward pulled my hand and started walking across the street to the blue shuttered house. He was fishing his wallet out of his pocket. He spoke quietly enough for only me to hear.

"If you have your student ID with you, get it out. Just follow my lead. I know you cannot tell a convincing story, so do not talk, let me do all of the talking, OK?" I nodded and even though he was looking straight ahead, I know he saw it. I hadn't brought a purse, or wallet, I guess I didn't think to grab it, so I definitely did not have my student ID. If Edward was 'doing all the talking' then I knew it wouldn't matter if I had a fish head, we would get whatever we wanted from this nosey neighbor anyway. That thought made me smile and this is one of the few times I wished Edward could read my mind, because that thought was funny. Then, we were at the blue wooden front door and Edward knocked lightly, it looked like there was a screen door on the hinges at one point but it was long gone. The whole front of the house looked in disarray, a little out of place in this tidy neighborhood. A full minute later a tall heavy set, middle aged woman with grayish black hair answered the door hesitantly. I thought she had probably contemplated not opening the door at all, since I could plainly hear her now booming heartbeat directly behind it the whole time. She looked intrigued and a little scared.

"May I help you?" She asked us and braced herself in the door jam, preventing us from seeing inside. My extra sensitive ears could hear a slight Boston accent in her voice and my nose could smell the lingering scent of bacon and –what was that- fried Spam??

Edward put forth his smoothest smile, no woman could resist that. "Hello, dear lady, I was hoping to get your opinion. You see, my friend and I are from The 'D', Dartmouth's school paper. We're here to do a story on the burglary across the street, but no one seems to be home. I thought maybe you could give us a comment, anonymously of course. Kind of the 'community's perspective' of the crime." He paused for effect. "That is, unless you wouldn't feel right representing the neighborhood, even though you would strictly be a confidential informant." That last part got her. She stepped aside and ushered us into the small foyer.

"Oh my, well, I'm flattered. Please won't you both come on in. Can I get you a drink?" We both shook our heads no, she wouldn't let us get a word in edgewise. Her huge pounding heart was making me thirsty. "Have a seat over here in the living room. I'm going to get a housecoat on, I'll be right back." With that she galloped out of the room and up the stairs while we made our way in to the shambles of a living room. I stopped at the front window and pulled back the blue curtains. She had a perfect view of the whole street from here, including a straight shot right into all of the club owner's windows. I looked at Edward and mouthed the word 'Spam?' He chuckled under his breath, he smelled it too.

In about two minutes she came stomping back down the stairs, her original yellow and blue spotted mu-mu covered in a thick blue terry cloth robe. This woman liked the color blue. Everything in this dirty house was blue. The walls were painted light blue, the living room furniture was dark blue, and she had a bright sapphire blue parrot in a large cage in the corner of the living room. The parrot had it's beak under it's wing, sleeping I'd guessed, when we came in, but the trumping down the stairs had woken it and it started squawking uncontrollably. The woman was over at the cage, yelling at the bird and slapping the cage with a balled up newspaper. The parrot wouldn't stop, I wanted to eat it just to shut it up. Edward lifted his arm up to my chest and backed us slowly up to the furthest wall away from the bird. I had a feeling it was not going to stop until we left. This is not the first time tame animals got crazy around me since I turned, it's like they have a sixth sense. Finally, thankfully, the woman lifted the crazed bird, cage and all, and swooped the whole thing into what I would assume was the kitchen, since I heard a back door slam and much cursing a minute later. Then she was back and I could still hear the bird in the back yard, it was not happy.

"I am so sorry. Quackers never acts like that, usually he is a perfect gentleman. Now, what can I do you for kids?" She was huffing and puffing out of breath as she flopped on a large chair next to the couch. Edward and I sat down on the frayed blue sofa and he crossed his legs and sucked in some air. 'Oh right' I thought 'act human'. I followed suit.

"Well, let's start with the basics, when was the last time you saw, what was his name? Mr. Cleary?" He pulled a small notebook out of his jacket pocket along with a pen and I wondered where they came from, since I hadn't seen him grab them at any time. He took notes diligently and asked several pertinent questions. The stupid bird was making my ears hurt. I heard the dog that had been barking earlier in her backyard as well, and I was hoping that the dog may be in the mood for a squawking snack, when Edward stood up.

"Thank-you very much for your help Mrs., is it Dearborn, you said?" Edward was putting his notebook away and we were coasting toward the door. Thank goodness, between the disgusting smell of rotting fried Spam and that bird I was on the verge of losing it. I didn't even hear half of what she'd said, maybe I was more in need of hunting then I thought. I wondered if vampires could get their own version of the flu.

Mrs. Dearborn was saying goodbye from her front door and I felt better the minute we stepped outside. Edward had my arm and was guiding me toward the SUV. He opened my door for me and glided to his side, started the engine, and pulled away. Mrs. Dearborn was, of course, watching from the window. I could still her that damn bird.

"Bella, are you alright?" Edward asked. "You look…" He struggled for the right word, "odd. Are you thirsty? Maybe we should hunt tonight?" We were supposed to wait and hunt together in a few days, right before Edward left. I couldn't stand the thought of hunting on Halloween, it was much too cliché.

"I'll be OK," I replied, "it's just that house. It was so smelly and blue and loud. It was overwhelming me, does that make an sense?"

"Well, keep in mind that vampires avoid humans for many reasons. Our enhanced senses are definitely a big part of that, Bella." He was thoughtful for a second. "Sometimes, I guess it can be down right painful, even after you take a way the blood lust." He looked at me and grinned that crooked smile, I could swear I saw his eyes glint with a black tinge.

A minute later we pulled into the Quick-n-Sip and parked around the back. Edward grasped my hand tightly.

"Would you like me to get you some water my dear?" Then he looked up as if the sky was talking to him. "Jasper's coming, he didn't find much."

I told Edward I was fine and then the back door opened and Jasper slid in. We started home and compared notes. Mrs. Dearborn was helpful in the sense that she saw nothing, and that's saying something, because that woman sees everything. She did hear the dog yelp once, the night before they broke down the door of the house. She didn't go outside to look, but she said it gave her the 'willies'. Jasper had a similar story. The place reeked of the vampire's scent, but he couldn't find anything left behind. The burglar had defiantly blasted the small safe in the house and he could tell some other things were missing, all things easily carried away. He said the dog's blood scent was in the shed and kitchen and shower, but no human blood worth mentioning, the vampire did not feed, very unusual.

When we pulled into the garage it was nearly four o'clock and I could see the Mercedes in our other parking spot. I was excited and nervous to see what costumes Alice had cooked up for us. This would be the first Halloween that Edward and I actually celebrated, which is kind of funny if you think about it, being the 'undead' and all. We had decided that we would donate all of Nessie's candy to Fun Town, so it was open season for her. It reminded me of when I was a little girl and my mom would dress herself and me in her old hippie clothes and take me around for Halloween. She always carried a bag too, she thought she passed for a young girl in those old clothes. She usually got a decent haul. Tonight, there would be none of that. I was sure that Alice would get us all the best of costumes and Nessie would do her own thing, we would tag along for her.

"AH-HA" Alice sing-songed to us as we came in the door. "We thought you jumped ship. Wait until you see how perfect these costumes are. We had to go to, what Nessie, five or maybe six shops. We should have shopped for costumes last week! If only I'd known." She was making a tsk tsk noise and pulling us all over to the couch and sitting us down. I looked at Edward for some help.

"She is singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic in her head. I can't tell what she got." He looked toward Renesmee's bedroom, where the door was closed. "Nessie is feeding tea to the stuffed dog Jake gave her for her birthday. We're doomed." Edward looked and me and smiled, rolling his eyes.

"Well, am I right that I did not get a costume my love?" Jasper said as he stood up. "I have to work tonight, it's going to be packed in there with freaks." Alice looked dejected but told him she hadn't gotten him a costume, she knew he wouldn't be joining us for trick or treating. "Then I'm going to go in early, the Halloween party starts at 6 o'clock at the club."

"OK dear, I'll be in around 10 or so. Have fun." She paused and closed her eyes for a second "Watch out for the Pope and Raggedy Anne, they'll be naughty I think." Alice said with a smile and glance at Jasper, she'd definitely had a vision. "Nessie, come on honey, let's do the big unveiling!" Alice glanced at Nessie's bedroom door as she said this and pulled four large hangers from the chair by our small kitchen table. They each had a sheet over them so we could not see what the clothes on them were.

Renesmee floated out of her bedroom and stood beside Alice holding her left had at an angle palm up and her right hand straight over her head. She had a huge smile on her face.

"Tah-dahhhhhh" Nessie continued to smile while tah-dahing.

Alice laid the hangers over the living room chair and grabbed the first one. "This costume is for Edward, we," she looked down to Nessie and they slyly grinned at each other, "thought our costumes should reflect our personalities. So, Edward, you are a..." She pulled back the sheet, displaying a brightly sparkling green cape and a towel wrap style hat made from glittering red fabric with a big jeweled pin in the center. "Swami. We thought that would be quite appropriate." She threw the costume onto Edward's lap and moved on. "Bella, we thought the perfect costume for you would be…" This time she bent over and let Nessie pull the sheet. "A Greek Goddess." The costume had a revealing white toga and a large silver shield, and also those gold shoes that laced up to your knee. I let out a visible sigh of relief. Unlike Renesmee, I did not want to be a bunny, a Greek Goddess I could handle.

Alice handed me my costume and continued. "My costume is, of course, a fortune teller." He sheet revealed a glittery halter top gaucho pant combo with big earrings and a crystal ball that she could wear around her neck. "And now the main event, if you will Miss Renesmee." Alice handed the last hanger, obviously a much smaller costume, to Nessie.

"I just want to tell you Momma and Poppa, that I LOVE my costume." Nessie said in her adorable little girl voice. With that she pulled back the sheet to reveal.."It's a bunny!! Hooray!" She shouted and we all laughed out loud. She had a zip up bunny costume complete with a hood with ears and a carrot necklace to wear around her neck.

"Well, she'll stay nice and warm." I grinned. " Thank-you Auntie Alice. Should we all get ready? It's going to be a fun night, oh, and I want to take some pictures." I said as I stood up and followed Nessie to her room to help her get ready. I glanced down at Edward and he did not look happy. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"She wants to eat the candy she gets tonight. Even though she doesn't like candy that much, she wants to eat it all." Edward said dryly.

"Boy, it has been a long time since you were a kid, huh, honey?" I said laughing. "Don't worry about it, I think her stomach can only hold a half pound or so." I chuckled to myself and we went to get ready.

It was a great night. Edward looked like a dashing mind reader. We hit six blocks of houses and Nessie hopped most of the way. I was sure she would sleep good, candy or not. Everyone commented on what a perfect goddess I made, I thought the shield was a great touch, not only was it appropriate, but I could hide behind it. We were heading home when Alice stopped dead on the side walk. Her head flung back and her eyes took on a cloudy white hue. It was made all the more creepy by the fortune teller's costume she wore. She started moaning and talking to herself and Edward grabbed her on one side and I got the other. We were near the park and we sat her down on a bench. Nessie looked on at us with a frightened gaze in her eyes.

A few seconds later it was all over and Alice stood up quickly. "That didn't make any sense." She said flatly. "I saw Forks. I saw the high school. I saw Bella as a human. I don't know, I need some time to process. Let's go home." She sighed and started walking ahead holding Nessie's hand.

Edward looked at me puzzled. He had already read Alice's mind and saw the vision first hand. I was getting my dire up at this.

"Oh no, mister. Don't you lay this on me. I have no one after me. I have done nothing. I am adapting well, I am a good girl. Whatever is going to happen will not involve me." I said with an angry tone.

Edward's brow furrowed, "I hope you're right and I know you are doing wonderfully, but something wicked is coming, Bella. You'd better get ready because according to that vision you are somehow going to be a part of it." He paused. "Tomorrow we hunt. Maybe I shouldn't leave…"

Edward's voice trailed off and I thought about how funny it was that this happened on Halloween. I thought about what Edward said and my gut wrenched. I would have to convince him to leave. If the trouble surrounded me, then I wanted Renesmee out of here. And, if the trouble did surround me, but in Forks, then I would have to stay here. Simple, right??

Chapter Four

Gifted

COMING SOON!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**GIFTED**

The next day was uneventful. There was nothing more in the news about the burglary at the club owner's house and Jasper hadn't heard anything new at the club. I could tell Alice was concerned about her vision, but she was putting on a brave face. School and 'Fun Town' were over, it was 11pm and Nessie was snug in bed as Edward and I prepared to hunt together for the last time until the Thanksgiving holiday. Edward was putting on his shoes in the living room while Jasper was also expressing concern that maybe he, Edward, and Renesmee shouldn't be leaving, but Alice put him off.

"Bella and I can handle it my love. I saw no death or trauma. Maybe I was just feeling a bout of upcoming home sickness since Bella will have to be away from her uber-love Edward." Alice rolled her eyes and looked over to me laughing in her beautiful high pitched kilter. "Besides, it will be more fun to be at work without you glaring at me all night. It is my job to talk to cute men, you know." She laughed again as she jumped onto his lap on the couch.

"Keep an ear out for Nessie, she's been having crazy dreams since she saw you trance out Alice" Edward said as we headed for the door. "We'll go tomorrow, if we don't I'm sure I will never hear the end of it from either of you. If something happens you'll call me right away and I'll come right back. Is that acceptable ladies?"

Edward stopped in the open door and looked over to Alice, then to me by his side while he let out an all too perceptible sigh.

"Quite, brother. You have made the right choice." Alice glared back at him as Edward and I glided into the dark hallway.

We hunted in a dense forest about 15 miles north of our loft. The deer were slow, feeding heavily for the upcoming winter. I nabbed three fawns and took a fourth to grab a to-go bottle as a treat for Renesmee. Edward went for a large buck as usual, and finally got him late into the night. As we got back home I started to feel drained and tired, which was odd, especially because I just fed. I decided it was just stress and I was not going to tell Edward. I didn't need any more trepidation about their trip, I wanted Renesmee away from me and Alice if something bad was about to go down.

The next day was Thursday and after classes ended for the night Edward, Renesmee, and Jasper took the Lexus to the airport. Renesmee had given me a huge bear hug and held on for a very long time, all the while touching the back of my neck and giving me clear visions of all kinds of things she was looking forward to. Airplanes and the impending flight were prominent and I remembered what it was like for me the first time I flew on a plane. When I pulled back to look at her, she had tears in her little eyes.

"Awww, sweet darling, Momma will miss you so very much. But, you will be with Poppa and you will see Jake, and your whole family! You will have so much fun the time will fly by and then we will be together again. And airplanes are so fun, you shouldn't be worried one little bit." I had pulled her to me again and she sniffled as I felt her relax a little.

"Okay, Momma, I will call you all the time and I will count the hours until we are together again." With that she kissed me on the nose and pushed me away dramatically. I wondered where she got that stuff from and then I remembered a Bette Davis marathon on AMC she was watching that afternoon, I would have to curb the tv time for her a wee bit in the future.

Now it was Edward's turn. He pulled me to him by my waist and kissed me deeply while Jasper brought Renesmee down to the SUV and strapped her in her car seat.

"How will I live without you for so long my Bella? I may not survive." He whispered softly into my ear, making me melt.

"When did this family become so dramatic?" I cooed in return. He responded by holding me tighter and kissing me harder, making me dizzy and unable to concentrate on anything else but his cool lips and raw passion. "I will miss you so much my love." I said after I regained my composure. We heard a car horn from the parking garage below.

"I have to go or we'll miss our plane and your daughter will be quite mad at you." He turned toward the stairwell in the hall, " I know she is excited about riding in the window seat on the plane. Thank goodness for first class red-eye flights." Edward was holding my hand as we bounded down the steps to the garage. The SUV was double parked by the stairwell door. Jasper was in the driver's seat and Nessie was in her car seat in the back holding her favorite teddy bear and twirling her hair. Alice was standing at the driver's door kissing Jasper goodbye and giggling at something he was saying. Their luggage could be seen through the tinted back windows.

"Goodbye my darlings, be safe, and call me when you arrive! I love you!" I blew kisses to Renesmee as they pulled out of the garage and she grabbed them from the air then blew some back to me. Alice was heading for the Mercedes.

"Bella, why don't you come to the club for a while? It will keep your mind off everything." Alice said as she blinked off the alarm on the car. I considered this for a moment.

"You know what, you're right Alice, why not? Give me two secs to get ready." I turned and in a flash I was in our loft and changed into black jeans and an off the shoulder blue cashmere sweater. I pulled on my knee high black boots and was back to the car in less then three minutes. Alice looked impressed at my speed and smiled as she pulled out and headed toward the club.

The night was uneventful and I was already feeling the pain of being separated from Edward and Renesmee. Many men tried to talk to me but I was uninterested and they gave up. I did enjoy watching Alice flirt her way into free drinks. I especially liked watching her shoot down some of the nasty propositions she got. It was easy for me to eavesdrop across the crowded dance floor. Most guys and girls she talked to though were nice and happy to have someone to dance with and help them meet people. The music was pulsing and the lights were a mixture of many blues, reds, greens and lots of white strobes. At one point I felt queasy, that same odd feeling of unease I had felt over the last few days. The first time was at the strange blue bird ladies' house, the second time was after Edward and I got back to the house after hunting, and then now. It was odd, like I was getting the flu. I just wanted to sleep, but I knew that was impossible for me now. I flagged down Alice and told her I wanted to go home to relax a little bit before sunrise. It was quite late and the club would close soon anyway, besides, they would be landing soon and I didn't want to miss Renesmee's call to hear about her flight. We left and I immediately felt better once we were out of the club.

Edward called and even though Nessie was asleep he woke her up to say 'I love you Momma, I like plane rides'. They had made it to the Cullen house by dawn and everyone sent their love.

It was weird having the loft so empty during the day, but I took the opportunity to clean Renesmee's room from top to bottom and give some of her older clothes that she'd grown out of to the Goodwill before going to class that night. Alice was also cleaning and redecorating the bathrooms from their previous pure white décor to a darker hue for the fall season. I left her humming to herself as I headed out to class.

The weather was brisk and if I felt cold I would have needed a heavy coat, but my long sweater was fine and much less bulky. As I walked home I watched other students breeze by me shivering and I was quite glad I didn't have to deal with that anymore, even if I did miss the sunshine. I got to our building and felt the oddest chill as I climbed the stairwell. I looked on my arm and sure enough I had goosebumps, something I had not had in a year and a half. I stopped dead in my tracks and pulled out my cell phone, dialing Edward's number. He answered on the first ring.

"What's wrong Bella?" He said quickly, as if he expected trouble.

"Geez," I was trying to make my voice sound normal, I didn't want to worry him, I just wanted to make sure everything was alright. I had to figure out why I felt this way, I was wondering if it was 'mother's instinct', "I just wanted to say goodnight to Renesmee and make sure everything was good out there." I think it worked, because he put Nessie on the phone.

"Hi Momma, we are all at Grandpa's house. It's me and Jake and daddy and Grandpa Charlie and Pop pop Carlisle and Uncle Billy, it's like a party! I miss you though! Everyone says hi to you!" She sounded blissful.

"Ok, sweetie, I miss you too. Tell everyone I send my love and you get to sleep soon! I love you." I replied, trying to relax a little.

"Oh Momma, it's three hours earlier here, it's only 8 o'clock. I'm not tired." I could hear her stifle a yawn in spite of herself. "Ok, night night, here's Poppa." I heard the phone scrape and Edward's voice was reserved but cautious.

"Bella, is everything alright there? Tell me the truth."

"Yes, Edward, I'm fine, I just wanted to say goodnight. I miss you guys, that's all." I lied.

We exchanged I love you's and I miss you's and I hung up and looked up the dark stairwell to the final flight by our loft door. My stomach churned. Something definitely was not right. I glided up the steps and stopped on the landing and tried the door, it was locked. I got out my key from my pocket and hesitantly put it in the door and turned the knob. I opened it slowly to see the lights on and I heard the radio playing softly, I could see Alice's feet laying on the end of the couch and I opened the door wider to walk in as I called her name. A sickening smell caught my nostrils, a familiar scent, a dangerous scent, one that I had only smelled once before. As the door shut behind me I felt instantly ill and I tried to call to Alice. As the wind left my lungs I gasped to keep from choking. I could see Alice laying fully on the couch now, seemingly serenely asleep, with her hands crossed across her chest. She could be asleep or dead, but with a vampire, could you really tell the difference? Except we didn't sleep, we never slept. What was going on? Why did I feel so sick? Where was this smell coming from?

My last question was answered when I saw a dark brown tuft of hair peek out from behind the kitchen counter. It was a vampire, that same vampire emanating the odor filling my throat. I felt myself growl, though I don't know where I got the strength from. The hair gave way to a pale face with big golden amber eyes and when he was fully erect I saw he was about 6 foot tall, wearing jeans and a ripped t-shirt. He spoke coolly, somewhat high pitched, even though he looked to be about thirty when he was turned.

"Looky what we have here. How are you still awake my dear? You should have hit the floor the minute you opened that door." He was still standing in the kitchen, not moving, he barely even moved his lips when spoke. "Why don't you lay down on the floor next to your friend. Wouldn't you like a nice nap? It will make you feel so much better, young one." He was moving toward me now and I tried to cringe back but every part of my stealth new vampire body ached and fought against me.

The slender stranger went over to a brown chair and grabbed a throw pillow from it, tossing it onto the floor next to the couch. He moved the coffee table aside watching me warily and made a patting motion with his hand on the pillow.

I wanted to run. I wanted to pull up, grab Alice, and get the heck out of there, but I could hardly move. I was stunned. My shield wouldn't or couldn't protect me from this, although I was sure that the shield was the only reason I was still conscious. The stranger let out a visible sigh and made a tsk-tsk sound in his throat. Then he flung his head back and closed his eyes hard, like he was trying to remember something he had forgotten long ago. My pulse raced and my head swam, it felt like I was drowning in a sea of dreams. So appealing, calling to me, pulling me toward the soft pillow and toward the stranger. My brain was shouting 'NO!', but my body could fight it no longer and I crawled over to the pillow by the stranger's feet.

"That's it, strong child, close your eyes now and let the sleep take you in. Close your eyes and rest, you are so weary." I was lying on my back on the pillow on the floor next to my sister-in-law on the couch. The stranger was leaning over top of me with his palms over my eyes, but not touching me. His words and voice became soft and sultry in my ears. "Sleeeeep nowwww…"

His voice trailed off in my head as I gave in and my eyes closed. It felt so good to release, so good to give in to the blackness and forget about everything. It was like I was drifting on a black cloud, feeling perfectly calm. Then everything started spinning and I heard an annoying noise.

"EARRRRGGHH EARRRGGHH" I opened my eyes and sprang up. Looking around and trying to grasp where I was I started flailing my arms around, I had to stop that noise. My right hand connected with something cold and hard and the noise stopped. My eyes adjusted to the light in the room I was in and it all came in clear. I was in a bed. I knew this place. I looked down to see my old alarm clock from my room in Charlie's house in Forks on the floor where I had just shoved it. I blinked again. I was in my old room in Charlie's house. I was in Forks? I suddenly felt chilled, cold, and I realized I had thrown the covers off me when I sat up. How could I feel cold? Then I felt something else strange, a rumbling in my stomach and a pressure on my abdomen. Did I have to eat and go to the bathroom?

Then I heard it, the clincher, the noise that would startle me and make me realize this was really happening. I heard Charlie's voice at my door.

"Hey, Bells, you okay in there? Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to school? It is your first day in a new school and all." He knocked on the bedroom door, "Bells, are you okay?" He asked again.

No, I was definitely not OK.

Chapter Five

Human?

Coming soon!!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

**Somebody Pinch Me ****  
**  
Everything spun around me like I was on a broken Ferris wheel. My stomach was lurching and a foggy haze filled my eyes, after a second I realized I was hyper-ventilating and crying at the same time. _How could I cry?_

Charlie was pounding on the door now. "Bells, stop fooling around, are you ok or not? Open this door." He tried the knob but somehow it was locked.

I took a few gasping breaths and tried to get out of the bed. _'Thhuummpp'_, I fell right onto the floor. It was as if I had to force my mind to remember what it was like to walk. I felt awkward and clumsy, just like I did when I was human. It was a feeling I thought I would never have again, and it was completely unwelcome now.

"What is going on!" I screamed to no one in particular as I pulled myself up holding onto the bed. I realized I was dressed in an old t-shirt and faded paisley pajama bottoms, I recognized them as being the PJ's I wore on my last night in Phoenix, before coming to Forks. I had left them behind in my room at Rene's house, or so I thought. I looked around my room and everything was familiar, just as I remembered it all. The rocking chair, my small bed, the window that Edward had slid in and out of so many nights, everything was in it's place. My suitcase sat on the floor, half empty, as if I had just gotten there and hadn't completely finished unpacking. I couldn't tell if the constant pounding was Charlie at the door or my head just aching, so I opened the bedroom door with a _whoooshhh_. Charlie nearly fell onto the floor since he was leaning on the door and he stepped into the room to stop his fall.

"I was just going to ask you the same question Bella." He said as he looked around quickly, he even turned around and looked behind the door. He was dressed in his uniform, obviously about to leave for work. His cheeks were red, if this were a cartoon, I thought, steam would be coming from his ears.

I ran past Charlie, into the hall as a wave of nausea fell over me. I got to the bathroom and looked at my face in the mirror. I was flushed and splotchy, with more tears beginning to well in my eyes. I looked down and pinched my for arm hard, _it hurt_. Then Charlie was standing at the open bathroom door. I turned to him as one tear started to stream down my cheek.

"I'm… _alive_." I half sobbed at him. He let out a resigned sigh and put his hands on his hips.

" Is that supposed to be a question?" He sounded anxious and nervous, just like he did when I first came to Forks. "Look, Bella, I know Forks is not the most exciting city but it's your first day, just give it a chance." He turned toward the steps still holding his hands on his hips and looked back. " Think of it as starting fresh." I wondered if you could be human, then vampire, then go back in time, become human again and call it 'starting fresh'. "Now, do you want me to drive you in today or will you be okay on your own?" I realized I did miss the old red truck my dad had bought for me from his Quilliote friend Billy and I found myself hoping that it was here along with what seemed like the entire contents of my room and an inquisitive father who would not leave. I was beginning to calm down and although my head was hurting I was able to control my breathing. My disorientation was beginning to dissipate and common sense took over. What ever was happening, I wouldn't be able to figure it out if Charlie got suspicious and lorded over me all day. I had to get rid of him then I would be able to collect my thoughts so I could get back to where I was... and who I was.

"Well, I guess I'm just jet lagged or…something" I said as I looked out into the hall at Charlie. "Go to work Charlie, I'll be okay."

"Alright, you take it easy today, just find your classes and get oriented, don't stress yourself out. I'm sure you'll fit in just fine." He stepped over and patted my head like a dog. "Come home right after school and I'll check in on you, ok?" He held my chin in his hand and looked me in the eyes. I nodded and attempted a smile. He turned on his heel and I heard him bounding down the stairs and out the door.

I slid onto the cold bathroom floor and sat completely still until I heard his car pull down the street, then I tried to stand up again. Aside from the room spinning I was able to get dressed and wash my face. In my room, my clothes were all as I remembered them from that first week in Forks, everything I found matched what I had brought from Phoenix, or at least from what I remembered did. I gave a little sigh and decided to just wear the same outfit I had worn on my first day of school in Forks, I had already done the leg work there, may as well roll with it.

I went down to the kitchen and eerily everything else matched too. The feeling of deja-vu sickened me intensely. I pinched myself hard again just to be sure I wasn't asleep and it still hurt. I looked in the fridge (even thought I knew what I would find) and wondered if you could feel pain in your sleep. I decided to have a glass of orange juice to help suppress my light headedness. I closed the fridge door as I realized that logically this could not be a dream, it had to be real, maybe my other life was the dream. I sat down at the old kitchen table as I contemplated. In my other life, my other world, the one I was just in less then an hour ago, I was a vampire. Subtle, beautiful, graceful, basically dead, and very much in love with my vampire husband and amazing daughter. I had already lived this portion of my life, the human portion, and it was over. Had I traveled through time? Was I dreaming? Not possible, I thought, I could not possibly be dreaming, because if my vampire world were true, if that was the _real_ world for me, then this could not be happening because vampires don't sleep. Traveling though time was not an option either, because I was definitely human again. I looked at my arms and legs and saw many black and blue bruises coming out from the fall off the bed earlier. My head started pounding in time with my heartbeat. I was human, no doubt.

I looked up at the clock, it was as if time were moving at lightening speed. If I didn't leave now I would be late for school, for what was apparently my first day of school here... again. I found my truck keys, pulled on my coat, and felt a little flush of butterflies in my stomach when I walked outside and saw the beat up red truck. I slid behind the wheel and considered my options. I could run away. Just drive and keep driving. Maybe eventually I would find the end of this crazy universe I'd been sucked into. Or, I could do everything as I had that first day and see where it takes me. Maybe I had to play it out to beat it. I decided to go to school and see what happens, at least I knew what to expect there or I thought I did. I turned out of the drive and headed to school, all the while noticing how everything looked the same as my memory. I pulled into the school parking lot and instinctively looked for Edward's silver Volvo. It was not there. None of the Cullen cars were there. That didn't seem right, it was a cold cloudy day, perfect for the Cullen clan to be at school. I pulled into the exact parking spot I had used upon my first, first day here, right in front of the administrative office. I hesitated for a sec, then took a breath and got out of the truck into the chilled air.

I went into the little office, the lighting, the decorations, even the smell was familiar instantly. I got my class schedule and everything was the same. I met Jessica, Mike and everybody else. Lunchtime came and I went with them to the table, hoping beyond hope that things would play out as they had the first time around. I was practically hyperventilating looking out the windows like a jack rabbit, waiting for the beautiful Cullens to arrive at lunch. Then, I saw him. Edward passed the windows outside, hair tousled, school bag slung over his right arm, wearing a…wearing …. Was that a letterman's jacket?

He pulled open the cafeteria door and waved hello to someone on the other side of the room as he strolled in. About five other kids called out hello to him as he headed toward the food line. He high-fived another when he got there. They leaned in and were talking for a minute and then Edward turned and looked directly at me. He was gorgeous, but not in the way I knew him, his skin was pink, his eyes were regular old hazel, his nose was red from being outside. This Edward was certainly not the man I knew, the vampire I fell in love with, this Edward was human.

My face flushed when he looked over and caught me staring so I turned away quickly. Edward got his food as I watched out of the corner of my eye. He paid and turned, heading right for our table. Maybe, he was trapped here too, maybe he knew me and could tell me what the heck was happening. He pulled a chair from another table and dropped his tray down next to Mike, nearly spilling his fruit cup on him.

"Hey, man, what gives!" Mike said as he jumped up to avoid being peached. "Watch what your doing you dumb jock." Mike said that with a grin and sat back down. Edward was sitting now, smiling too. I was flabbergasted. Then, Edward turned and looked right at me.

"Who do we have here?" He said, still had that crooked grin. My heart immediately jumped into my throat and I couldn't speak a word.

"That's Bella." Jessica, as always, so helpful, said, "She's the new girl we were talking about." Jessica looked over at me, "Bella, this is our resident quarterback, Edward Cullen. Even though our football team sucks balls." Edward threw his napkin at her and from the look in her eyes as she stared at him fakely protesting I could tell that in this alternate bizarro world, Jessica was crushing on Edward the way she crushed on Mike before. I did not like that one bit. Edward was looking at me again.

"Well, Miss Bella, tell us something about yourself. What do you like to do for fun?" Edward said as he furrowed his eyebrows. "You're from Arizona or Vegas or something. Right? Don't worry, you'll see the sun here eventually, last year it came out, like four times I think, right guys?" He said that with a laugh and looked at the table as everyone laughed and nodded in agreement.

I realized everyone was waiting for me to say something. I had a huge lump in my throat. 'Pull yourself together Bella', I gave myself a pep talk in my head, 'you are not that shy, scared girl anymore.' I took a breath and looked at Edward. "Phoenix, actually. And, it was sunny every day, I think it only rained about twice last year." I said shaking my head, I could feel myself biting my lip nervously. Edward smiled at me. "Who do you have for biology?" I asked, I was on a roll. I knew he should have the same teacher as me, I knew we should be lab partners, what I still didn't know was why any of this was happening.

The small talk ended abruptly when the bell rang and everyone scattered. Edward asked me if I knew where I was going and I thought how ironic that question was, but I answered yes. As I left the cafeteria to go to my locker I nearly bumped right into a small girl blocking the open doors. My heart leapt when I saw who it was and I let out a shriek of joy. "Alice! Oh jeez am I happy to see you!" Then I thought better and changed my tune. "I mean, hi, you must be Alice? I'm Bella, the new girl." Alice half smiled, half grimaced and grabbed my arm, dragging me into the girls bathroom.

"Of course I know who you are Bella. I'm me and I guess you're you, but no one else is themselves. Get it?" No, I didn't get any of this and I was about to say so but Alice continued, "Now, best as I can figure it, I was at the loft and then I woke up back here. And, Bella, guess what else! I'm human!" She said this with a mixture of surprise and horror, like she couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. "This is so weird, I cannot get used to it. I have these weird pains in my stomach, uugghh, they're driving me crazy. And, guess what? My head hurts, I think I have a headache!" Of course, there was no stopping her, so I had to interrupt.

"Alice what the hell is going on?" I was starting to hyperventilate again and my face felt hot. "I woke up at Charlie's back ..here…and did you know Edward is human too?"

"Yes," She rolled her eyes, "and he is such a, just a, well he's like a" She was looking for the right word, "jock, I guess. I woke up at our house in Forks, only it's not as nice, it's kind of old, it looks like we never remodeled here. Carlisle was there and Esmee, both human too, but that's it, not Jasper or Rose or Emmett. Why is it just us?" Alice scrunched up her nose like she was thinking. "I can't concentrate with my stomach churning like this. I think I have to feed, I mean, eat? Right?" She looked at me with doe eyes.

"Yes, Alice, you're probably just hungry. Go get something out of the vending machine, do you have money?" She shook her head yes. "I'm gonna go to class and try to finish the day and get closer to Edward, maybe he'll recognize me or something. Let's meet out front right after school and we'll figure this out. I want to go home." Alice moved forward and hugged me.

"Me too sweetie, me too." We left the bathroom and split up as Alice yelled back at me, "Stay out of trouble Bella!"

I rounded the next corner in the empty hallway and wondered how I would explain my lateness to the teacher when something dark down the hall to my left caught my eye. I turned my head quickly and saw a dark fog creeping away, like it was alive. I thought I caught a glimpse of a dark figure too, but I couldn't tell. If there was one thing I'd learned over the last few years, it was that you should not doubt your instincts, so I ran down the hall as fast as I could. It was definitely a dark fog, covering the walls, it went from floor to ceiling, covering all the lights as it passed. I stopped short, afraid to touch it and watched as it slid through the cracks to the outside at the end of the hall, where it dissipated and went away. Something made me turn around quickly and I thought I saw a dark figure again, turning a corner at the other end of the corridor. I took off after it and wished, not for the first time today, that I had my vampire senses back. By the time I got to the end of the hall it was gone.

This day was getting weirder and it was about to get even worse as I realized what class I had next…Biology.

Chapter 6 Definitely Coming Soon! Please review and tell your friends if you like it. Thanks! :o)


End file.
